Sunday, March 18, 2007

Ragini (Aahuu-chashm in Urdu/mriganayani in Sanskrit), who starred in movies like Shahjehan, Shireen Farhad, Sarhad, Sundari before the partition, and later made her mark in movies in Pakistan, died in Lahore recently.

آہو چشم راگنی

She was 83 and alone in her death. Once on her every step, Kunwar Sahab, used to place a note of Rs 100 in the Anarkali Bazaar and when she died in a small room, she was all alone, wrote Zahida Hina.

She was born in 1925 in Gujranawala and named Shado. Her father's name was Seth Diwan Parmananad and her mother had diied durng her childhood.

Roshanlal Shori of Shori pictures was amazed to see her 'tilismi' eyes. She was brought in the films and from Dulha Bhatti, she captured the eyes of movie buffs.
Her hero MD Kunwar in the film Dulla Bhatti fell in love with her and later drank himself to death.

In AR Kardar's film Shahjehan, she had played the role of Mumtaz Mahal. Nek Parveen and Farz were also hit movies before partition. In Pakistan she worked in movies like Akeli, Nazrana, Beqarar, Sharare, Mumtaz etc.

آہو چشم راگنی اور پری چہرہ نسیم کا عہد

A life size cutout of Ragini was posted in Lahore before the release of film with a strip of cloth on her eyes. On the hoarding it was written, 'yeh naqaab haT gayii to kyaa hogaa'. Her arching eyebrows and expressive eyes had captivated an entire generation.

She married producer S Gul. But like many other great actresses of yesteryears Ragini also suffered in her old age. She had to leave her daughter's home as her husband didn't want people to know that her mother-in-law was a film actress. She was all alone in her death.

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